Latest news with #Rickettsiaprowazekii
Scientific American
a day ago
- Health
- Scientific American
Did Disease Defeat Napoleon?
Beginning on June 24, 1812, around 600,000 soldiers led by French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte crossed the Neman River to invade the Russian Empire. The war was one of the most costly in history, and just under six months later, only a few tens of thousands of men returned across the river. The massive losses have historically been attributed to soldiers falling in battle, succumbing to frostbite, starving to death or dying in a typhus epidemic. But now a new, not-yet-peer-reviewed preprint study by microbiologist Rémi Barbieri of Paris City University and his team have identified other pathogens that might actually have been responsible for much of the death. Historical records from the time show that doctors that accompanied the army diagnosed typhus from symptoms such as fever, headaches and skin rashes, and an analysis of remains in a 2006 study had suggested possible infections with typhus and trench fever. But when Barbieri and his team examined the preserved teeth of 13 of Napoleon's fallen soldiers, they were unable to find any evidence of Rickettsia prowazekii, the bacterium responsible for epidemic typhus, or Bartonella quintana, the cause of trench fever, which infected more than a million soldiers during World War I. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Instead they found traces of the bacterium Salmonella enterica —which causes typhoid fever, not to be confused with typhus—and Borrelia recurrentis, which causes relapsing fever and is mainly transmitted by body lice. With the help of modern medicine, typhoid and relapsing fever both have very high survival rates. But these previously unidentified pathogens could have easily caused death in soldiers who had already been weakened from cold and hunger and were living in terrible hygienic conditions. The researchers note that their sample of 13 soldiers is too small to be sure that other diseases, such as typhus, did not kill many other soldiers during Napoleon's retreat. They only have not yet found evidence of such infections. Napoleon himself survived the retreat almost unscathed. The losses brought his rule over Europe to a slow end, however. In 1815 Napoleon was finally defeated by the U.K. and Prussia at the Battle of Waterloo. HELP US STAND UP FOR SCIENCE Before you close the page, we need to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and we think right now is the most critical moment in that two-century history. We're not asking for charity. If you become a Digital, Print or Unlimited subscriber to Scientific American, you can help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both future and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself often goes unrecognized.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
DNA Casts Doubt Over Theory on What Killed Napoleon's Forces
When Napoleon and his legion of multinational soldiers retreated from Russia in 1812 in the face of dwindling supplies and fierce Russian resistance, little did they know how much worse was yet to come. While withdrawing from Russia, at least half of the 600,000-strong force were ravaged by the extremes of winter, starvation, and disease. A new study that has yet to be peer reviewed has now identified which pathogens helped decimate the weakened forces. Physicians at the time documented typhus, with symptoms that include fevers, headaches, and rashes. But Paris Cité University microbiologist Rémi Barbieri and colleagues found no traces of the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii, which would have been responsible for the disease. Related: After extracting and analyzing ancient DNA from the teeth of 13 soldiers they instead found evidence the men suffered from a combination of paratyphoid caused by a strain of Salmonella enterica, and a relapsing fever caused by a bacterium called Borrelia recurrentis, which is transmitted by body lice . "While not necessarily fatal, the louse-borne relapsing fever could significantly weaken an already exhausted individual," the researchers explain in their paper. Barbieri and team caution that just because their analysis did not detect typhus doesn't mean it didn't contribute to the infamous loss of soldiers, as they only took samples from 13 individuals. Over 3,000 bodies lie in the mass graves found in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2001. Other researchers have pointed out several diseases match the historical accounting of symptoms, including typhus. Many of the men were buried in their uniforms and with horses, too. The lack of weapons suggests these people did not die in battle, Barbieri and his team explain. "The analysis of a larger number of samples will be necessary to fully understand the spectrum of epidemic diseases that impacted the Napoleonic army during the Russian retreat," they write. "In light of our results, a reasonable scenario for the deaths of these soldiers would be a combination of fatigue, cold, and several diseases, including paratyphoid fever and louse-borne relapsing fever." This paper has been uploaded to bioRxiv. Related News Study Reveals How Many IVF Babies Have Been Born Worldwide Image on The Shroud of Turin May Not Belong to a Real Human Venting Doesn't Reduce Anger, But Something Else Does, Says Study Solve the daily Crossword
